This introductory chapter begins with an overview of the evolution of extreme right parties in Western Europe since the 1980s. It highlights the emergence of new extreme right parties that do not ...
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This introductory chapter begins with an overview of the evolution of extreme right parties in Western Europe since the 1980s. It highlights the emergence of new extreme right parties that do not share any commitment to neo-fascism, but rather are anti-system as they undermine the democratic system’s legitimacy through their discourse and actions. They also respond to the needs generated by post-industrial society that traditional parties have failed to address.Less

Introduction

Piero Ignazi

Published in print: 2003-05-29

This introductory chapter begins with an overview of the evolution of extreme right parties in Western Europe since the 1980s. It highlights the emergence of new extreme right parties that do not share any commitment to neo-fascism, but rather are anti-system as they undermine the democratic system’s legitimacy through their discourse and actions. They also respond to the needs generated by post-industrial society that traditional parties have failed to address.

Fascism is primarily associated with the Mussolini's regime in Italy and Hitler's government in Germany. While these two countries exhibited an explosive effect, this study was only marginally ...
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Fascism is primarily associated with the Mussolini's regime in Italy and Hitler's government in Germany. While these two countries exhibited an explosive effect, this study was only marginally concerned with their actual practices, their ‘modernizing’ nature and impact and their role in perpetrating the Second World War. The main concern of this study was the concept of fascism as an idea and a cultural mood which attracted intellectuals before the World War I and before fascism was transformed into mass political movements. Fascism in internationally deprived countries such as Italy and Germany were seen as tools for strong revisionist foreign policy element and a militaristic tendency which aided for procuring power. On the whole, fascism was more about domestic affairs. It was a cultural and political response to the rise of mass society, urbanization, and secularization. Fascists belonging to the nineteenth century looked for an alternative way to modernity that would preserve ‘civilization’ and elite culture from the threat of democratic and socialism, that would include the masses without being dominated and subjugated by them and that would change the ‘disenchantment of life ’ linked with modern rationalism.Less

Conclusion

Azar Gat

Published in print: 1998-09-03

Fascism is primarily associated with the Mussolini's regime in Italy and Hitler's government in Germany. While these two countries exhibited an explosive effect, this study was only marginally concerned with their actual practices, their ‘modernizing’ nature and impact and their role in perpetrating the Second World War. The main concern of this study was the concept of fascism as an idea and a cultural mood which attracted intellectuals before the World War I and before fascism was transformed into mass political movements. Fascism in internationally deprived countries such as Italy and Germany were seen as tools for strong revisionist foreign policy element and a militaristic tendency which aided for procuring power. On the whole, fascism was more about domestic affairs. It was a cultural and political response to the rise of mass society, urbanization, and secularization. Fascists belonging to the nineteenth century looked for an alternative way to modernity that would preserve ‘civilization’ and elite culture from the threat of democratic and socialism, that would include the masses without being dominated and subjugated by them and that would change the ‘disenchantment of life ’ linked with modern rationalism.

The Left/Right bipolarization oversimplifies fractionalized schisms often prompted by personal ambitions disguised as ideological dissensions. The extreme Right was exemplified by the Action ...
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The Left/Right bipolarization oversimplifies fractionalized schisms often prompted by personal ambitions disguised as ideological dissensions. The extreme Right was exemplified by the Action Française and various fascist movements which were active during the Vichy regime. The latter prompted Gaullism's reassertion of heroic nationalism. Catholic parties competed for control of the right-centre with liberal conservatism. A populist extreme Right re-emerged in Le Pen's National Front.Less

Adversaries: Polarized and Fragmented Party Politics of the Right

Jack Hayward

Published in print: 2007-04-01

The Left/Right bipolarization oversimplifies fractionalized schisms often prompted by personal ambitions disguised as ideological dissensions. The extreme Right was exemplified by the Action Française and various fascist movements which were active during the Vichy regime. The latter prompted Gaullism's reassertion of heroic nationalism. Catholic parties competed for control of the right-centre with liberal conservatism. A populist extreme Right re-emerged in Le Pen's National Front.

The enigma of how ordinary people related to would-be totalitarian regimes is still far from being resolved. The tension between repression and consensus renders analysis difficult; where one ends ...
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The enigma of how ordinary people related to would-be totalitarian regimes is still far from being resolved. The tension between repression and consensus renders analysis difficult; where one ends and the other begins is never easy to determine. In the case of fascist Italy, recent scholarship has tended to tilt the balance in favour of popular consensus for the regime, identifying in the ideological and cultural aspects of Mussolini's rule a ‘political religion’ which bound the population to the fascist leader. This book presents a different picture. While in no way underestimating the force of ideological factors, the book argues that ‘real existing Fascism’, as lived by a large part of the population, was in fact an increasingly negative experience and reflected few of those colourful and attractive features of fascist propaganda which have induced more favourable interpretations of the regime. Distinguishing clearly between the fascist project and its realisation, the study examines the ways in which the fascist party asserted itself at the local level in the widely-differing areas of Italy, at its corruption and malfunctioning, and at the mounting wave of popular resentment against it during the course of the 1930s which, in effect, signalled the failure of the project. The study, based largely on archival material, concludes by suggesting that the abuse of power by fascists at the local level mirrors a wider problem related to the utilisation of power within Italy, both past and present.Less

The Fascist Party and Popular Opinion in Mussolini's Italy

Paul Corner

Published in print: 2012-07-19

The enigma of how ordinary people related to would-be totalitarian regimes is still far from being resolved. The tension between repression and consensus renders analysis difficult; where one ends and the other begins is never easy to determine. In the case of fascist Italy, recent scholarship has tended to tilt the balance in favour of popular consensus for the regime, identifying in the ideological and cultural aspects of Mussolini's rule a ‘political religion’ which bound the population to the fascist leader. This book presents a different picture. While in no way underestimating the force of ideological factors, the book argues that ‘real existing Fascism’, as lived by a large part of the population, was in fact an increasingly negative experience and reflected few of those colourful and attractive features of fascist propaganda which have induced more favourable interpretations of the regime. Distinguishing clearly between the fascist project and its realisation, the study examines the ways in which the fascist party asserted itself at the local level in the widely-differing areas of Italy, at its corruption and malfunctioning, and at the mounting wave of popular resentment against it during the course of the 1930s which, in effect, signalled the failure of the project. The study, based largely on archival material, concludes by suggesting that the abuse of power by fascists at the local level mirrors a wider problem related to the utilisation of power within Italy, both past and present.

The most up-to-date and comprehensive English-language study of its kind, From victory to Vichy explores the political mobilisation of the two largest French veterans’ associations during the ...
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The most up-to-date and comprehensive English-language study of its kind, From victory to Vichy explores the political mobilisation of the two largest French veterans’ associations during the interwar years, the Union fédérale (UF) and the Union nationale des combattants (UNC). Drawing on extensive research into the associations’ organisation, policies and tactics, this study argues that French veterans were more of a threat to democracy than previous scholarship has allowed. As France descended into crisis, the UF and the UNC sought to extend their influence into the non-veteran milieu through public demonstrations, propaganda campaigns and the foundation of auxiliary groups. Despite shifting policies and independent initiatives, by the end of the 1930s the UF and the UNC had come together in a campaign for authoritarian political reform, leaving them perfectly placed to become the ‘eyes and ears’ of Marshal Pétain’s Vichy regime.Less

From Victory to Vichy : Veterans in Interwar France

Chris Millington

Published in print: 2012-03-14

The most up-to-date and comprehensive English-language study of its kind, From victory to Vichy explores the political mobilisation of the two largest French veterans’ associations during the interwar years, the Union fédérale (UF) and the Union nationale des combattants (UNC). Drawing on extensive research into the associations’ organisation, policies and tactics, this study argues that French veterans were more of a threat to democracy than previous scholarship has allowed. As France descended into crisis, the UF and the UNC sought to extend their influence into the non-veteran milieu through public demonstrations, propaganda campaigns and the foundation of auxiliary groups. Despite shifting policies and independent initiatives, by the end of the 1930s the UF and the UNC had come together in a campaign for authoritarian political reform, leaving them perfectly placed to become the ‘eyes and ears’ of Marshal Pétain’s Vichy regime.

The extreme right has consolidated its presence across Western Europe. This book presents a compilation of studies on the ideological meanings and political/partisan expressions of the extreme right, ...
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The extreme right has consolidated its presence across Western Europe. This book presents a compilation of studies on the ideological meanings and political/partisan expressions of the extreme right, their post-war evolution, and the reasons behind the success and failure of various parties. It highlights the rise of a new type of parties that are anti-system rather than neo-fascist.Less

Extreme Right Parties in Western Europe

Piero Ignazi

Published in print: 2003-05-29

The extreme right has consolidated its presence across Western Europe. This book presents a compilation of studies on the ideological meanings and political/partisan expressions of the extreme right, their post-war evolution, and the reasons behind the success and failure of various parties. It highlights the rise of a new type of parties that are anti-system rather than neo-fascist.

In scholarly literature and common language, patriotism is often conflated with nationalism, which is associated with an exclusive, intolerant, and irrational attachment to one's nation. As the ...
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In scholarly literature and common language, patriotism is often conflated with nationalism, which is associated with an exclusive, intolerant, and irrational attachment to one's nation. As the history of Fascism and Nazism shows, patriotism understood as nationalism can have disastrous consequences. Nevertheless, this book argues that the language of patriotism must be distinguished from that of nationalism. While nationalism values the cultural, religious, and ethnic unity of a people, patriotism is the love of a people's common liberty, which gives us the strength to resist oppression by the selfish ambitions of particular individuals. In addition, patriotism is a rational love, since civic virtue is instrumental to the preservation of law and order, which is the prerequisite of our liberty. The question we must address is how to make our particular love of one's own country compatible with the universal principles of liberty and justice. Through a historical interpretation of patriotism from classical antiquity to contemporary debates, Viroli explores the possibility of patriotism without nationalism; i.e. one that emphasizes political unity based on the republican commitment to the common good, rather than cultural, religious, or ethnic homogeneity.Less

For Love of Country : An Essay On Patriotism and Nationalism

Maurizio Viroli

Published in print: 1997-10-02

In scholarly literature and common language, patriotism is often conflated with nationalism, which is associated with an exclusive, intolerant, and irrational attachment to one's nation. As the history of Fascism and Nazism shows, patriotism understood as nationalism can have disastrous consequences. Nevertheless, this book argues that the language of patriotism must be distinguished from that of nationalism. While nationalism values the cultural, religious, and ethnic unity of a people, patriotism is the love of a people's common liberty, which gives us the strength to resist oppression by the selfish ambitions of particular individuals. In addition, patriotism is a rational love, since civic virtue is instrumental to the preservation of law and order, which is the prerequisite of our liberty. The question we must address is how to make our particular love of one's own country compatible with the universal principles of liberty and justice. Through a historical interpretation of patriotism from classical antiquity to contemporary debates, Viroli explores the possibility of patriotism without nationalism; i.e. one that emphasizes political unity based on the republican commitment to the common good, rather than cultural, religious, or ethnic homogeneity.

Using newly discovered archival sources this book examines the major works of Martha Graham between 1938 and 1953, arguably her most productive period. Graham’s artistic maturation overlaps the ...
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Using newly discovered archival sources this book examines the major works of Martha Graham between 1938 and 1953, arguably her most productive period. Graham’s artistic maturation overlaps the global crisis of fascism, the conflict of World War II, and the post-war period that ushered in the Cold War. It also corresponds to the trajectory of her personal and professional relationship with dancer Erick Hawkins who first appeared with the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1938 when her art was taking on new dramaturgical complexity, political commitment and mytho-graphic dimension. As a relationship between a young man and a mature woman as well as between an established and a fledgling artist, the Graham-Hawkins story was a tormented one. The vicissitudes of this relationship and its emotional tone will be an integral part of the description of Graham’s work undertaken in this study. The sociological axes of seven major works are Graham’s involvement with anti-Fascism prior and during World War Two and her involvement with post-Freudian psychoanalytic theory and Jungian psychoanalysis in the postwar period. This book relates Graham’s original and groundbreaking use of myth to both anti-fascism and psychoanalysis, before and after the war respectively, and thus brings her choreography into direct relationship both to the key events of her time and to her personal life.Less

Martha Graham in Love and War : The Life in the Work

Mark Franko

Published in print: 2012-06-05

Using newly discovered archival sources this book examines the major works of Martha Graham between 1938 and 1953, arguably her most productive period. Graham’s artistic maturation overlaps the global crisis of fascism, the conflict of World War II, and the post-war period that ushered in the Cold War. It also corresponds to the trajectory of her personal and professional relationship with dancer Erick Hawkins who first appeared with the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1938 when her art was taking on new dramaturgical complexity, political commitment and mytho-graphic dimension. As a relationship between a young man and a mature woman as well as between an established and a fledgling artist, the Graham-Hawkins story was a tormented one. The vicissitudes of this relationship and its emotional tone will be an integral part of the description of Graham’s work undertaken in this study. The sociological axes of seven major works are Graham’s involvement with anti-Fascism prior and during World War Two and her involvement with post-Freudian psychoanalytic theory and Jungian psychoanalysis in the postwar period. This book relates Graham’s original and groundbreaking use of myth to both anti-fascism and psychoanalysis, before and after the war respectively, and thus brings her choreography into direct relationship both to the key events of her time and to her personal life.

The impact of the events of the twentieth century on the patterns described in the previous two chapters is addressed, paying attention to the impact of fascism and Nazism and, in particular, social ...
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The impact of the events of the twentieth century on the patterns described in the previous two chapters is addressed, paying attention to the impact of fascism and Nazism and, in particular, social democracy.Less

Pathways to Twentieth‐Century Industrial Politics:

Colin Crouch

Published in print: 1994-07-28

The impact of the events of the twentieth century on the patterns described in the previous two chapters is addressed, paying attention to the impact of fascism and Nazism and, in particular, social democracy.

This chapter explores the lack of success of the extreme right in Great Britain. Fascist leanings were kept in check in the 1930s, when a fascist party was formed, and in the post-war years when ...
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This chapter explores the lack of success of the extreme right in Great Britain. Fascist leanings were kept in check in the 1930s, when a fascist party was formed, and in the post-war years when right extremists tried to obtain political relevance. Right extremist parties never benefited from full political legitimacy, and their attachment to the traditional fascist mould precipitated their demise.Less

Great Britain: A Case of Failure

Piero Ignazi

Published in print: 2003-05-29

This chapter explores the lack of success of the extreme right in Great Britain. Fascist leanings were kept in check in the 1930s, when a fascist party was formed, and in the post-war years when right extremists tried to obtain political relevance. Right extremist parties never benefited from full political legitimacy, and their attachment to the traditional fascist mould precipitated their demise.

The extreme right never took hold in Spain, Portugal, and Greece. Their relatively new democratic regimes as well as socio-economic change eliminated the foundations of right-extremist values, and ...
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The extreme right never took hold in Spain, Portugal, and Greece. Their relatively new democratic regimes as well as socio-economic change eliminated the foundations of right-extremist values, and distanced the public from its traditional authoritarianism and neo-fascist heritage. Moreover, the extreme right did not provide sufficient organisational and political articulation for the populist anti-system protest during the mid-1980s, thus failing to attract a sizeable audience.Less

The Mediterranean Countries: Too Late for Nostalgia, Too Early for Post-material Protest

Piero Ignazi

Published in print: 2003-05-29

The extreme right never took hold in Spain, Portugal, and Greece. Their relatively new democratic regimes as well as socio-economic change eliminated the foundations of right-extremist values, and distanced the public from its traditional authoritarianism and neo-fascist heritage. Moreover, the extreme right did not provide sufficient organisational and political articulation for the populist anti-system protest during the mid-1980s, thus failing to attract a sizeable audience.

The extreme right grew significantly in the last two decades of the 20th century, as evidenced by the advent of new parties, rise of formerly small and marginal organisations, and radicalisation of ...
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The extreme right grew significantly in the last two decades of the 20th century, as evidenced by the advent of new parties, rise of formerly small and marginal organisations, and radicalisation of former ‘moderate-conservative’ parties. The most striking feature of the present ‘wave’ of right extremism is the dispersion of extreme right parties across Europe, compared to its concentration in Italy and Germany in the previous decades. Although majority of these parties reject any reference to fascism, their ideological core contains elements depicting a right extremist ideology or ‘mentality.’Less

Extreme Right Parties: The By-product of a ‘Silent Counter-revolution’?

Piero Ignazi

Published in print: 2003-05-29

The extreme right grew significantly in the last two decades of the 20th century, as evidenced by the advent of new parties, rise of formerly small and marginal organisations, and radicalisation of former ‘moderate-conservative’ parties. The most striking feature of the present ‘wave’ of right extremism is the dispersion of extreme right parties across Europe, compared to its concentration in Italy and Germany in the previous decades. Although majority of these parties reject any reference to fascism, their ideological core contains elements depicting a right extremist ideology or ‘mentality.’

This chapter discusses major developments in right extremism in Europe between late 2000 and mid-2002. It highlights the successes of the following parties: FN in France, the FRPn in Norway, DFP in ...
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This chapter discusses major developments in right extremism in Europe between late 2000 and mid-2002. It highlights the successes of the following parties: FN in France, the FRPn in Norway, DFP in Denmark and Fortuyn in the Netherlands. It also provides brief updates on extreme right parties in Austria, Italy, Belgium and Germany.Less

Epilogue

Piero Ignazi

Published in print: 2003-05-29

This chapter discusses major developments in right extremism in Europe between late 2000 and mid-2002. It highlights the successes of the following parties: FN in France, the FRPn in Norway, DFP in Denmark and Fortuyn in the Netherlands. It also provides brief updates on extreme right parties in Austria, Italy, Belgium and Germany.

This essay examines the origins of three political doctrines of the twentieth‐century—Communism, Fascism, and Marxism—which Berlin linked through attributing to them the assumption that human life ...
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This essay examines the origins of three political doctrines of the twentieth‐century—Communism, Fascism, and Marxism—which Berlin linked through attributing to them the assumption that human life tended in ‘only one direction’. He contrasted this briefly with his own view that human goals were really various and ‘at times incompatible’.Less

Political Ideas in the Twentieth Century

Isaiah Berlin

Published in print: 2002-03-07

This essay examines the origins of three political doctrines of the twentieth‐century—Communism, Fascism, and Marxism—which Berlin linked through attributing to them the assumption that human life tended in ‘only one direction’. He contrasted this briefly with his own view that human goals were really various and ‘at times incompatible’.

Since the early post-war years, parties have been central to Italy's political system and have regulated the recruitment patterns and socialization of members of the large political class, which was ...
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Since the early post-war years, parties have been central to Italy's political system and have regulated the recruitment patterns and socialization of members of the large political class, which was quite strictly separated in a national and a sub-national circuit. Consequently, in this so-called age of 'particocrazia', political reforms were mostly intended to strengthen the party control of Italian politics. The drastic change in the party system and the electoral system in beginning of the 1990s has then led to a considerable exchange of the political class' background, composition, and professional status. Yet, it seems that by now a re-professionalization is already under way, albeit not a return to a strictly party-dominated system.Less

Italy: The Homeland of the Political Class

Ettore RecchiLuca Verzichelli

Published in print: 2003-12-11

Since the early post-war years, parties have been central to Italy's political system and have regulated the recruitment patterns and socialization of members of the large political class, which was quite strictly separated in a national and a sub-national circuit. Consequently, in this so-called age of 'particocrazia', political reforms were mostly intended to strengthen the party control of Italian politics. The drastic change in the party system and the electoral system in beginning of the 1990s has then led to a considerable exchange of the political class' background, composition, and professional status. Yet, it seems that by now a re-professionalization is already under way, albeit not a return to a strictly party-dominated system.

This chapter explores the Left-Right dichotomy and the meaning of the term ‘Right.’ It discusses how the terms Left and Right entered the political domain, and concludes that the changing paradigm of ...
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This chapter explores the Left-Right dichotomy and the meaning of the term ‘Right.’ It discusses how the terms Left and Right entered the political domain, and concludes that the changing paradigm of the political space reinforces the Left-Right divide rather than marginalizing it. It argues that ‘images’ of the Right have multiple facets at the mass public level, while different styles of thought of the Right have appeared in the realm of political ideologies.Less

Meanings and Varieties of the Right

Piero Ignazi

Published in print: 2003-05-29

This chapter explores the Left-Right dichotomy and the meaning of the term ‘Right.’ It discusses how the terms Left and Right entered the political domain, and concludes that the changing paradigm of the political space reinforces the Left-Right divide rather than marginalizing it. It argues that ‘images’ of the Right have multiple facets at the mass public level, while different styles of thought of the Right have appeared in the realm of political ideologies.

This chapter explores the ideology and evolution of the extreme right. Historians and political philosophers have attributed the ideologies of ‘counter-revolutionism’ and ‘fascism’ to this term. ...
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This chapter explores the ideology and evolution of the extreme right. Historians and political philosophers have attributed the ideologies of ‘counter-revolutionism’ and ‘fascism’ to this term. However, in the 1980s, a new set of ideas entered the political discourse of the right; fascism and its variants no longer remained the unique cultural sources. Two types of extreme right parties have emerged: traditional extreme right parties, and post-industrial parties.Less

From Ideologies to Parties

Piero Ignazi

Published in print: 2003-05-29

This chapter explores the ideology and evolution of the extreme right. Historians and political philosophers have attributed the ideologies of ‘counter-revolutionism’ and ‘fascism’ to this term. However, in the 1980s, a new set of ideas entered the political discourse of the right; fascism and its variants no longer remained the unique cultural sources. Two types of extreme right parties have emerged: traditional extreme right parties, and post-industrial parties.

This chapter explores the evolution of fascism in Italy. Fascism found its complete and lasting realisation in inter-war Italy from 1922 until 1943-45. No other extreme right party succeeded in ...
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This chapter explores the evolution of fascism in Italy. Fascism found its complete and lasting realisation in inter-war Italy from 1922 until 1943-45. No other extreme right party succeeded in post-war Italy. In the 1990s, a new party, the (Lega Nord) Northern League, has been credited with anti-system and right-extremist credentials.Less

Italy: The Faded Beacon and the Populist Surge

Piero Ignazi

Published in print: 2003-05-29

This chapter explores the evolution of fascism in Italy. Fascism found its complete and lasting realisation in inter-war Italy from 1922 until 1943-45. No other extreme right party succeeded in post-war Italy. In the 1990s, a new party, the (Lega Nord) Northern League, has been credited with anti-system and right-extremist credentials.

This chapter explores the development of the extreme right in France. It discusses the rise of the Front National (FN), the political party perceived by other parties and its own voters and cadres as ...
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This chapter explores the development of the extreme right in France. It discusses the rise of the Front National (FN), the political party perceived by other parties and its own voters and cadres as being the right extreme of the right-left continuum. It is argued that the extreme right has fallen back to its tradition of fragmentation and internal quarrels. The two parties pursue diverging strategies, confrontational for the FN and bargaining-oriented for the Mouvement National Republicain. However, none of these have produced results.Less

France: Prototype of the New Extreme Right

Piero Ignazi

Published in print: 2003-05-29

This chapter explores the development of the extreme right in France. It discusses the rise of the Front National (FN), the political party perceived by other parties and its own voters and cadres as being the right extreme of the right-left continuum. It is argued that the extreme right has fallen back to its tradition of fragmentation and internal quarrels. The two parties pursue diverging strategies, confrontational for the FN and bargaining-oriented for the Mouvement National Republicain. However, none of these have produced results.

This chapter focuses on the transformation Austria’s FPO political party from a ‘liberalist’ into a right extremist. The party is placed much closer to right extremism rather than ...
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This chapter focuses on the transformation Austria’s FPO political party from a ‘liberalist’ into a right extremist. The party is placed much closer to right extremism rather than liberal-conservatism due to a number of factors. These include its constant de-legitimising of representative democratic institutions, disdain for liberal democratic procedures, distrust for the idea of equality of man, and the appeal to natural community and ethnicity against citizens’ rights.Less

Austria: Away From Liberalism

Piero Ignazi

Published in print: 2003-05-29

This chapter focuses on the transformation Austria’s FPO political party from a ‘liberalist’ into a right extremist. The party is placed much closer to right extremism rather than liberal-conservatism due to a number of factors. These include its constant de-legitimising of representative democratic institutions, disdain for liberal democratic procedures, distrust for the idea of equality of man, and the appeal to natural community and ethnicity against citizens’ rights.